Dover (Oct. 18, 2008) --- Delaware State racked up a season-high 423 total yards in a 42-7 win over North Carolina A&T before 6,089 Homecoming fans at Alumni Stadium Saturday afternoon.
The Hornets won their second straight to improve to 3-3 overall and 3-1 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). The Aggies have lost their last six games to fall to 2-6 and 0-4 in the MEAC.
Delaware State also won its fifth in a row over the Aggies to open up a 19-18 lead in the series. The Hornets have outscored NCA&T 69-7 in their last two meetings.
The Hornets' point total and margin of victory were the most since a 62-0 win over Concord (W. Va.) in 2006.
“We played well at times, and not so well in others, but it was a fine win for our team,” said Delaware State Head Coach Al Lavan, who improved to 5-0 vs. NCA&T and 26-8 vs. MEAC opponents. “I thought we squandered some good scoring chances in the first half, but our defense played well enough to keep the Aggies off the board until late in the game.”
Delaware State opened the scoring when redshirt freshman Jaashawn Jones capped off a six-play, 39-yard drive with his first career touchdown on a one-yard plunge on the game's opening drive. NCA&T failed to recover an onsides kick to begin the contest, giving the Hornets excellent field position on the opening possession.
DSU again took advantage of a short field for its second score.
An eight-yard punt by the Aggies' Lee Woodson gave Delaware State the ball on the NCA&T 30 six minutes into the game. Four plays later, Chris Strother scored his second touchdown of the season on a 19-yard run to give the Hornets a 14-0 lead with 8:03 left in the first quarter.
The Delaware State defense set-up the Hornets next touchdown.
Two plays after linebacker Josh Pope forced and recovered a fumble at the NCA&T 26, Kareem Jones scored his first touchdown of the season on a four-yard run to give DSU a 21-0 lead with 13:15 left in the second quarter. The Hornets were aided by a pass interference call on the Aggies during the drive.
Despite committing a turnover on each of its next three second-quarter possessions, Delaware State maintained its three-touchdown lead at the half.
“The turnovers kept up from taking a bigger lead at the half,” Lavan said. “I stressed the need to be more efficient on offense during the halftime break.”
Delaware State put together a long drive for the only score in the third quarter. Quarterback Vashon Winton capped off a 10-play, 70-yard drive with a two-yard touchdown run to give the Hornets a 28-0 lead with 6:29 left in the third quarter. Winton leads the Hornets with nine rushing touchdowns this season, and has 24 for his career. He also completed three-of-four passes for 41 yards, while Strother rushed for 27 yards on five carries during the drive.
The Hornets scored on the first play of the fourth quarter to open up a five-touchdown lead.
Kareem Jones scored his second touchdown of the game on a seven-yard run to cap off a six-play, 76-yard drive, directed by second-string quarterback Anthony Glaud. Glaud, a sophomore transfer from Bowling Green University, completed three-of-three passes for 53 yards during the drive.
“It felt good to contribute to the win,” said Jones, who rushed for 16 yards on six carries. “A number of guys made big plays on offense, and that's a credit to the offensive line. Also, our defense made sure we didn't have far to go on several of the touchdown drives.”
Delaware State opened up a 42-0 lead after the game's only passing touchdown. Glaud connected with Eddie Brown on a 59-yard scoring pass with 12:50 left in the fourth quarter. It was Glaud's first touchdown pass at Delaware State, and Brown's second scoring catch of the season. Brown had four receptions for a career-high 88 yards, topping all players. DSU's Darius Jackson hauled in four passes for a career-high 74 yards.
North Carolina A&T avoided being shutout when Nigel Tomlin scored on an eight-yard touchdown run with 8:55 remaining in the game.
Strother led all players with 79 yards rushing on 13 carries.
The Hornets passed for a season-high 275 yards in the contest. Glaud completed eight-of-nine passes for a season-high 165 yards, while Winton was 10-for-17 for 110 yards. Seven players had at least one catch for the Hornets.
Delaware State's defense held the Aggies to 80 yards rushing and 195 total yards. The Hornets had a season-high six sacks, including two by Joe Mendes. Brandon Hudson had his team-leading third interception, while Donta Herrod picked off his first career pass for DSU.
“I thought we played with a lot of energy on both sides of the ball,” said linebacker Josh Pope who led the Hornets with four solo tackles (five solo). He was also credited with two tackles-for-loss, including a sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. “The defense has been working really hard, and its good to see our efforts paying off.”
The Hornets return to action next Saturday (Oct. 25) at Morgan State. North Carolina A&T will be home to face Howard in its next contest, also on Oct. 25.
